NAHANT — High school students walked solemnly on the beach Friday afternoon, murmuring the rosary and taking turns carrying a large wooden cross, as they commemorated Christ’s last hours before his crucifixion and death.

The prayerful reflection was on the first day of a a two-day retreat called Hunger for Justice attended by nearly 200 students from parishes and schools across the North Shore and sponsored by St. Mary’s in Lynn.

The students paused frequently along the way on Nahant Beach as waves crashed on the shore, to remember the Stations of the Cross and allow for reflection. At points, they sang sorrowful songs about Jesus’ walk to Calvary, where he was crucified.

Two of the teens walking at the back of the procession said that they had recently relied heavily on faith to get through some difficult medical situations.

Last summer, Ryan Turenne, 17, of Lynn, was diagnosed with a heart condition that kept him from playing the sports that he loves.

“I felt like God wasn’t there for me,’’ Turenne said.

Turenne said that he was blessed by a few priests and this spring received a second opinion from a doctor who told him he had been misdiagnosed and he is healthy.

Stephen Fama, 16, of Lynnfield, suffered from a spinal condition that paralyzed him for a while and had him hospitalized, sometimes in the ICU, in 2012. Through a long, difficult recovery, he had to learn how to walk again.

“It was really tough on my family,’’ Fama said.

Both Fama and Turenne called their experiences miracles. They both said that they felt “blessed to be alive’’ and surrounded by a community of faith.

Earlier, the retreat opened with skits relating personal stories. Students sat on large tarps on the beach and watched attentively as Lauren Savia, 15, talked about how she had been bullied to the point where she felt hopeless. Just as she was about to give up, she said, she decided to go on a spiritual retreat in January that gave her new hope and strength to go on.

Now, she said, she shares her story with others to let them know they are not alone. Among the students attending the retreats, she has found a “community of support,’’ she said. “They have my back.’’

Her older sister said hearing Lauren’s story is painful but the January retreat saved her life. “It just makes me proud to know that she has the strength to share her story to help other people,’’ said Amy-Grace Savia, 18.

The students were fasting as part of their experience, abstaining from food for 30 hours beginning at 4 p.m. Friday until after a Saturday evening Mass. The fast was for more than a spiritual purpose. They were collecting pledges per hour of their fasting to raise funds for Haiti180, a group that works with the poor in Haiti to benefit a school, orphanage, and home for the elderly.

After attending a service on a hill overlooking the beach Friday afternoon, the students were planning to spend the night sleeping on the floor of St. Mary’s school before heading into Boston Saturday to distribute food and toiletries to homeless people on the Common.

Peter Olds, 15, said he viewed Friday’s Stations of the Cross as an emotional journey to prepare himself to serve the homeless Saturday.

“It will give me a chance to recognize my privilege and give back to other people,’’ Olds said.

Marlon Scott, a 17-year-old from Lynn, did not need the trip to the city to understand homelessness. He and his family experienced it firsthand when he was younger, he said, as he followed the cross from the beach and up the hill.

Friday was Scott’s third year participating in the Hunger for Justice retreat. He said he likes to see the impact the retreat has on his peers and how it transforms some of them, and that keeps him coming back.

He sees students return from the retreat to class year after year, he said, and “not take as much for granted.’’

Maddie Kilgannon can be reached at maddie.kilgannon@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaddieKilgannon.